During the month of September, I read Grenade by Alan Gratz. This novel takes place on the island of Okinawa, which is an island located near Japan. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Americans make a pit stop on Okinawa, before moving on to attack Japan. To prevent the Americans from continuing onto Japan, the IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) decides to bring the war to Okinawa. Living on the island of Okinawa is a young by named Hideki Kaneshiro, who is a part of the Blood and Iron Student Corps. The Blood and Iron Student Corps is a group of Okinawa boys training to be soldiers and protect their island and its people. Landed on Okinawa is another young soldier named Ray Majors, who is there with his team of U.S. marines. When he heard about the war, Ray ran from home to join the U.S. military. Both boys have no idea what to expect and are hoping to survive the war, but keep encountering many hardships and losses. The boys run and and fight on Okinawa, but when they run into each other, the choices they make in that instant will change everything.

I recommend reading this book, because the author did a fantastic job describing the setting, characters, and conflict. It seemed as if Gratz interviewed these people! This book was fast paced and intense, which made me not want to put the book down. Make sure to clear your schedule before you start.

Even though I really enjoyed reading about both characters, my favorite was Hideki Kaneshiro, because is a hero and role model to all of the people in the book. Various times throughout the book, he leads people from danger and helps heal wounded. Hideki is very heroic. On page 213, the text states “Hideki stepped in front of the last of the children, a little boy. Right between the soldier on one side and the boys and bomb on the other.’’ For context, Hideki was helping a group of children escape from the IJA and when a soldier saw them and pointed a gun at them, ordering to stop, Hideki placed himself in front of the kids to protect them. This demonstrates that he put others before himself, showing his bravery and compassion.

My favorite line from this novel is “No,” Hideki said. “This isn’t the end, Kimiko. It’s a beginning” (255). I like this quote because it makes me cheerful after reading the dark and sad experiences the main character, Hideki, went through. I liked ending this instense novel on a positive note.